


Whumptober2019

by StrongerWithThePack



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Family, Hurt/Comfort, Whump, Whumptober 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:28:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 31
Words: 21,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26408008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrongerWithThePack/pseuds/StrongerWithThePack
Summary: A collection of short stories for Whumptober2019.
Comments: 66
Kudos: 11





	1. Day 1: Shaky Hands

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, I'm going to give Whumptober a try this year. Hope you enjoy!

**Whumptober Day 1: Shaky Hands**

Gordon hands were shaking as he struggled to buckle himself into the pilot's seat of Thunderbird 2. Virgil's seat. The sight of dried blood still plastered to his hands as he brought them up to the controls did nothing to help the trembling. Looking at the giant panel of controls on front of him he froze, breathing heavily.

He couldn't do this.

Sure, he'd flown brothers' bird plenty of times, he was the co-pilot after all. But Virgil had always been around for those times. Gordon still vividly remembered Virgil's continuous nagging along with the constant state of panic his brother seemed to be in while Gordon was first doing his training in Thunderbird 2.

He knew this bird inside out. So why couldn't he focus!?

Still trembling Gordon flashed back to the rescue.

_"Virgil!" Gordon shouted across the comm link "You need to get out of that building right now"._

_Virgil's voice huffed back, clearly out of breath "What do think I'm doing Gordon?"_

_Gordon knew his brother was going as fast as he could, but it didn't alleviate any of the worry he was feeling as he watched the building practically swaying. Or at least it definitely looked like it was._

_Relief flooded through him as Virgil burst out of the front entrance but that didn't last long as the building gave an almighty groan and came crashing down right behind him. Gordon was forced to crouch over and shield himself as small pieces of debris came flying his way._

_When everything settled Gordon peered through the thick cloud of dust scanning the area he had last seen his brother._

_"Virgil!" He ran forward clambering over larger pieces of rubble trying to spot the familiar blue and green. Coughing as he inhaled lungsful of dust, he finally spotted the familiar outline of his big brother._

_Virgil was in a bad state. Gordon could see that just from looking at him. Thankfully he hadn't been buried but the large piece of metal protruding through his abdomen didn't exactly inspire any confidence. Gordon let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding as he found his unconscious brothers' pulse, reassuring him that Virgil at least still had a chance here._

_Gordon placed his hands around the edges of the wound trying to stem some of the blood flow. He could see the local rescue workers approaching and shouted at the to bring a stretcher._

_"Hang on Virgil" Gordon whispered. "Help is coming. Just hang on a little longer."_

Recalling the events just made Gordon feel nauseous as he stared at his hands which were still stained red with Virgil's blood. None of his other brothers were here. Scott and Alan were both on a rescue up in space and John was, of course, on five.

He was alone.

Virgil was back in two's sick bay strapped up and as stable as he possibly could be. The locals had helped as much as they could, but Virgil needed a hospital. And fast. So why couldn't Gordon seem to get his hands working.

He needed to snap out of this. Virgil was counting on him and all he was doing was wasting time. Gordon took a deep breath as he had thoughts of his brother, calm and strong. A lot like Thunderbird 2. Gordon let the security of his brothers' bird encompass him. If he was honest, there were very few other places that made him feel as safe and secure as Thunderbird 2.

He released a steady breath and his hands stilled. He found himself moving almost automatically now as he readied the bird for take-off. Calm and strong. Those were the tendencies his brother radiated and that was what Gordon was channelling now as he expertly got them airborne and set a course for the nearest hospital.

Leaving the bird on autopilot from there, he walked back down to sit by Virgil's side and placed a steady hand on his brothers' shoulder.

"Don't worry Virgil, you're going to be okay now"


	2. Day 2: Explosion

**Whumptober2019 Day 2: Explosion**

Scott rested his head back and closed his eyes as he relaxed into the couch. This had been a tough week. Rescue's had come in almost non-stop and Scott knew the entire family was verging on burnout. Thankfully the last few hours had been quiet, so Scott had caught up on some much needed maintenance work on Thunderbird 1.

He'd wandered up to the lounge once he was done but there was no one about. He hoped his brothers were catching up on some much needed rest after the past week. That reminded him he needed to check up on John at some point. Just because his space-bound brother wasn't present on at the rescue sights, didn't mean he wasn't working himself ragged up on Five. Scott needed to make sure his brother was getting enough sleep as John had been known in the past to forget that the human body did actually need rest in order to keep functioning.

For now, however, Scott was content relaxing into the couch and letting the distant sounds of waves wash over him. It was for this reason, Scott jumped about a meter into the air when a huge boom echoed across the island. _Was that an explosion!?_

Scott was immediately alert as he ran to the door of the villa, trying to find the source of the noise. Smoke was billowing from the beach and Scott quickly dashed down the steps. As he neared the source of the smoke he slowed down and approached cautiously. He didn't think any intruders could have made it past their top of the line detection and security measures but he didn't want to risk it.

Spotting two familiar blond heads his caution morphed into exasperation as he wondered what his two youngest brother had done this time.

"What on earth are you two doing?" he yelled as he finally reached them.

His brothers both whipped their heads round to look at him like two deer caught in headlights, two very dirty deer's. Gordon's face was full of guilt and Alan was biting his lip with watery eyes, they were both covered in soot and there were small flames sprouting up behind them.

"Um, well, I got some fireworks last time we were on the mainland and we were planning on setting them off later tonight but…as you can see not everything went according to plan." Gordon hastily explained.

Scott sighed and rubbed at his eyes as he felt the beginning of a headache coming on. "Are you both alright?"

Alan winced and confessed shakily. "Uh I burnt my arm a bit."

Scott now noticed Alan had been holding his arm up against his chest and hissed as he saw the blistering skin.

"Aw Sprout, lets get you up to the medbay" Scott sighed as he put a hand on Alan's shoulder and guided him up to the house.

He gave the both a pointed look and added "We will be discussing this later though."

Gordon pouted. "Sorry Scott, it's just been a really tiring week and we wanted to do something fun."

"I know Gordon" Scott sighed.

This always happened when things got busy. John ended up withdrawn, Virgil got grumpy and a sleep deprived Gordon and Alan was an accident waiting to happen. Scott had to admit he also tended to get less observant as he got more worn out. Things slipped under his radar and that was not something that was suppose to happen.

He just had to remind himself it was worth it. They saved lives. Things got tough sometimes but that was part of the job. They just had to do their best.


	3. Day 3: Delirium

**Whumptober2019 Day 3: Delirium**

Scott was crouched down next to his youngest brother, worry etched across his face as Alan grew more un-aware.

He lightly patted his little brothers face as Alan's glazed-over eyes once again slipped close.

"Alan you've got to stay awake okay? Keep your eyes open" he repeated.

Alan huffed and mumbled "Just 5 more minutes Scott".

They'd continued like this for the last half hour, Alan wasn't aware of what was going on anymore. Even Scott's head was starting to get a bit muddled.

They had been evacuating a market in Brazil that had been badly flooded. It was an all hands on deck sort of job so his three earth bound brother were all on site.

Him and Alan had been searching for people on the north side and had heard what sounding like someone shouting for help. On further investigation they found a huge industrial freezer and could have sworn the noise was coming from there.

They had cautiously entered calling out to anyone that might have tried to shelter there. There was no time to react as the bang of the door swinging shut startled them both. Scott had immediately lunged for the handle but it had locked from the outside. He banged on the door for a while hoping someone would be out there who could help them before eventually giving up. That had been 2 hours ago.

There was no other way out and the sealing in the freezer was preventing them from getting any signal out. Coms were down too so they couldn't call for help.

Scott hadn't panicked at first. He thought once him and Alan failed to check-in that John would send Virgil and Gordon to their last known location and they'd get out fairly quickly. He was beginning to lose that hope though as the hours ticked by.

Scott was starting to feel sluggish and his shivering had almost stopped. He could recognise the early signs of hypothermia. Hell, he'd spent the last half an hour watching Alan go through them. He guessed due to Alan's age and size, his youngest brother was feeling the effects of the cold a lot quicker than him.

Scott first noticed when Alan started slurring his words. Then the shivering stopped and the weakness followed. It didn't take long before Alan had slowly slid down the wall to sit down.

When Scott had commented that they needed to keep moving Alan had assured him he just needed a minute to sit.

He hadn't gotten up since.

By now, Alan's lips were almost blue and his cheeks were flushed red in stark contrast to the rest of his paling skin. His breathing was short and raspy and his eyes unfocused.

Scott was sat next to his brother, his arms wrapped tightly around Alan's body trying to give him as much heat as possible. Alan seemed so tiny in his arms. He was just a kid really.

Scott could feel himself getting unfocused. He'd been talking to Alan constantly in an attempt to keep his little brother awake but he continued his slurred rambling long after Alan had lost his battle with consciousness.

Time seemed to blur from that point on and Scott was barely conscious himself when he saw movement in his peripherals. Suddenly Virgil was in his face, grabbing him by the chin, forcing his head up to look at him. Scott could tell his brother was talking to him but he couldn't focus enough to hear it.

All he could manage was to glance down at the bundle in his arms, trying to convey that it was Alan that needed help.

He saw then what must've been Gordon already crouching by Alan's side. He wanted so badly to help but his body wasn't responding to his commands.

Trusting that his brothers could handle it from here Scott gave in to the darkness creeping in at the edges of his vision.


	4. Day 4: Human Shield

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So far I've been leaving out any ages regarding John and Virgil as I still (yes still) can't get my head around them. John being second eldest is ingrained into me and I think it's what I prefer but then I don't all out hate TAGs version of Virgil being older...
> 
> So for this fic Virgil is second eldest and John is third eldest - I'm going to try out this new dynamic a bit but it'll probably change story by story. Enjoy!

**Whumptober2019 Day 4: Human Shield**

John was breathing heavily through his nose as he and Virgil made their way through piles of rubble. A small town in Indonesia had been hit by a high magnitude earthquake and John could honestly say he'd never seen anything like it. You could hardly tell a town had been here to begin with.

Luckily, this earthquake had been predicted and majority of the townsfolk had been evacuated long before it hit otherwise this would have been an entirely different scene today.

International Rescue had been called in to sweep the area just to be sure there were no casualties that hadn't made it out in time. There were also a few people who had opted to ride out the quake in shelters so they were in the process of evacuating those as well.

John was down from five while Alan did a months rotation on his own to keep up with his training. John was less than happy about it but there wasn't much he could do. Although he did enjoy time down with his family his heart would always be with the stars.

It was for that reason that he was now sore, tired and running on empty. It's wasn't that he was unfit, far from it actually. His extended time in space just tended to wear down his muscle mass and it took some time to readjust to Earths gravity. They'd also been out here for hours now and still had a long way to go.

Virgil noticed his heavy breathing and commented, smirking slightly "Doing all right there Johnny?"

The question was phrased in a mocking tone and John just narrowed his eyes at his brother, expressing his annoyance at the question.

"I'm fine" he answered pointedly.

Virgil chuckled and turned away from him, surveying the area. "We should be pretty close to that last shelter now from the coordinates Alan sent me".

Johns attention was turned to his watch when a shrill beeping sounded. Alarmed he checked the reading a saw they had an aftershock coming their way. Fast. Why hadn't Alan alerted them?!

John was about to address Virgil's look of confusion but found he didn't have to when the ground beneath them started to shake.

"Aftershock" he croaked out.

They were right out in the open with no cover. All the buildings were already damaged and unstable so that wasn't an option. John spotted a car abandoned in the street not too far from where they were and gestured to it, starting to move in that direction. It wasn't ideal but it was their best chance.

There was a low rumbling in the air with loud crashes and bangs as windows smashed and large pieces of debris fell from buildings. Both brothers were trying their best to get to the car but John found himself needing to steady himself with his hands on the ground frequently. The street was unsteady and unpredictable. As if he didn't already have enough trouble with gravity as it was.

At least Virgil seemed to be having trouble as well. His usually sturdy brother was also looking rather unbalanced.

As he'd been studying his brothers movements Virgil's eyes suddenly locked onto his, panic clearly showing through.

"John! Get down" Virgil shouted over the noise.

The building to their right was crumbling at a substantial rate and John could only stare as small pieces of debris came raining down towards them

He was suddenly and forcefully tackled to the ground while he'd been distracted by the falling building. He was forced to shut his eyes as cement and hardwood crashed down around them spraying dust and small particles everywhere.

A larger piece hit his leg and he sucked in a sharp breath which only made him cough as the dust caught the back of his throat.

Surprisingly though that seemed to be the only piece that had hit him. He wished he had just been incredibly lucky but knew in the back of his head that was not true. He cracked his eyes open, when things seemed to settle, to see Virgil crouching over him, breathing heavily.

His older brothers face was scrunched up in pain.

John looked at him wide eyed and breathed "Virgil...?"

His brothers dazed eyes locked on his for a second before his arms gave out and he crashed down right on top of him. John wheezed as the air was forced out of him as Vigils full weight came down on top of him. More aware now, he snapped back in to action.

"Virgil! Virgil, are you okay?"

He struggled to slide out from under Virgil's broad frame. He really didn't want to move his brother too much but there was nothing he could do to help while stuck underneath him.

What he saw when he got a good look at his immediate older brother made him gasp. The uniform on Virgil's back was torn to shreds, dark bruising littered his back along with some, what he hoped were, shallow gashes.

Not wanting to put Virgil on his back but needing to check his brothers coherence John rolled him onto his side and into the recovery position.

Virgil's eyes were open but not by much. John tried not to panic. He was usually the one who was always calm. He needed to be. That was his job as communications officer. But he wasn't usually right here. With a barely responsive brother and no one around to help.

He placed a hand on Virgil's cheek.

"Virgil, are you with me?" He said softly.

Virgil gave a long groan and answered weakly. "Always." He took in a sharp breath and continued "Although I think I might be needing a hospital pretty soon"

John was relieved that Virgil was at least coherent but the fact that his older brother had asked for a hospital was worrying enough. All the Tracy boys were known to avoid the hospital at all costs. Too many bad memories were held within those white walls.

"You shouldn't have done that Virg. You could have gotten yourself killed." John didn't add that he still might if he didn't get help soon. He hated that his failure to react quick enough had ended up getting Virgil hurt.

Virgil just smiled weakly. "That's my job little brother."

John grimaced at the words hoping this wouldn't ever happen again.

"John to Thunderbird Five. Alan, we need immediate medical evacuation at my coordinates. And I mean immediate."

"Hang in there Virgil."


	5. Day 5: Gunpoint

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot more planned for this one cause I was really looking forward to this prompt but i have no time today so just a really short one unfortunately. Enjoy!

**Whumptober2019 Day 5: Gunpoint**

This was bad.

The situation had escalated too quickly and Scott couldn't do anything. He hated not being in control.

It was his fault a gun was now aimed at his little brothers chest. John looked fairly calm considering the circumstances but Scott knew it was just a mask.

They'd walked in on a robbery at a convenience store and Scott thought he could take the man down quickly. And normally he could've but he made a stupid mistake. A mistake that could now cost his him his little brother.

He'd disarmed the man easily enough and let his guard down once he thought he had the situation under control. It was at this time a second gunman had rounded the corner pushing John in front of him with a gun pressed into the square of his back.

Scott now aimed the gun he'd taken off the first assailant at the newcomer but he was using John as cover.

The man snarled "Drop the gun or your friend here's gonna end up with a bullet in him"

Scott wanted to call his bluff but the stakes were too high. When the man cocked his gun and levelled it at John's head he hastily obeyed the command.

As soon as he placed the gun on the ground the original guy scampered across the ground to grab it.

The man immediately levelled it at Scott, still looking flustered at being taken down so easily earlier. His hands were shaking and Scott was irked that these amateurs had managed to get them in this position.

He should have been able to prevent this. He was trained for these situations. His only hope now was that this night wouldn't end in bloodshed.


	6. Day 6: Dragged Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've realised almost all of my whumptober fics are from Scott's POV so far. I hadn't even notice until now but I guess I must like worried BigBrother!Scott. Luckily he has an excess of little brothers for me to be mean to...sorry Scott!

**Whumptober2019 Day 6: Dragged Away**

"I found his watch John but no Gordon" Scott said worriedly into his comms. What he failed to mention were the copious amounts of blood also surrounding his little brothers watch.

"Virgil, Alan, rendezvous at my position" Scott directed.

International Rescue had been called out to help find survivors of a town that had been wrecked by a hurricane. There hadn't been too much damage and there had only been a few reports of minor injuries. They usually could have left a situation like this to the local rescue services but things had been quiet lately so they offered their help.

All four Earth-bound brothers had split off to cover a different area of the town. By all standards this should have been an easy rescue. No casualties and no time constraints, just helping out with minor first-aid and escorting civilians to designated refuge areas.

John had been directing them all from Thunderbird Five and there had been an almost constant stream of communication. Gordon and Alan had been bantering across the comm link with Virgil and John chipping in every once and a while. Scott usually would have insisted that the line be used for relevant communications only but he let it slide today. He found himself smiling as he listened to his younger brothers, it was nice having a conversation with all five of them. Even if they weren't all together.

When Gordon didn't immediately respond to a snarky comment Alan sent his way Scott tuned back in. The line had gone silent as everyone expected Gordon to chime in. As the seconds ticked by Scott got an uneasy feeling in his stomach.

"Gordon report" Scott voiced across the channel.

"He might have found some civilians, I'm reading heat signatures in his area" John reported.

Scott was glad John was always on top of everything. He really didn't know what he would do without their steady voice from the sky.

That was why Scott's stomach dropped when Johns voice sounded again with a slight hint of panic.

"Scratch that. Gordon has activated his emergency signal. Scott you're closest to his location, I'm sending you the coordinates now."

Scott had immediately taken off at a run in that direction. He hoped it was a false alarm but the emergency signals were hardly ever used. It meant something was really wrong and also that the user couldn't use their comm for some reason.

That had been over 20 minutes ago and now Scott was left staring at a pool of blood with Gordon's watch sitting bang in the middle of it.

Scott found himself panicking as he waited for John to try and track their little brother down. He felt helpless. His little brother was missing, possibly hurt and he couldn't do anything.

He schooled his features into a less wild look as Virgil and Alan emerged from behind. He watched them survey the scene. Virgil grimaced and clenched his fists at his side while Alan paled dramatically.

His youngest brother squeaked "Wh-Who's blood is that?"

Scott and Virgil shared a grim look. They didn't reply but they all knew who's blood it was.

Virgil took a deep breath and stepped closer to get a proper look at the area.

He pointed at the red stains "There are blood tracks leading around the back of the building." He paused grimacing "It looks like he might've been dragged back there."

They followed the trail of blood, Scott tried not to focus on the tears in Alan's eyes as they did. If he tried to comfort Alan he'd have to think about it himself and he needed to put it to the back of his mind in order to focus. That was the only way they were going to get him back.

Virgil stopped up ahead "The trail stops here but there are tire tracks now, they must've taken him in a car or van"

Scott closed his eyes and spoke quietly into his comm "You getting all this John?"

John replied distractedly "Yeah still looking Scott"

Scott knew John must've been using every resource available to them, and even some that technically weren't, but that didn't stop him from wanting to snap at John to try harder. He knew it was unfair but he was struggling to control his fear for his water-loving brother. There had been so much blood. How could Gordon's small body hold so much blood? And on that note, how did he still have enough left in him!?

These thoughts were spiralling in his head as they waited in silence for John to find something.

Johns voice finally broke the silence "I've got him. White Chevy pickup truck heading North on the central motorway."

With a quick, determined look at each other they all shot into action as John continued "If you take Thunderbird One you should be able to cut them off in minutes."

Scott was already remote piloting one to their location. These guys had messed with the wrong people. There would be no where on Earth or in Space that they could hide from them now.

 _We're coming Gordon._ Scott thought. _Just hold on._

He just hoped they wouldn't be too late.


	7. Day 7: Isolation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Officially at the one week mark, yay! This is insane for me, I have never written for more than two days in a row before. It's kind of taught me that I don't have to wait for the perfect conditions before writing. I've literally been writing these prompts in notes on my phone any spare second I have.
> 
> I really hope I can make it to the end of this challenge but I'm already proud of how much I've done. Thanks so much to everyone who's been reading. Hope you enjoy todays update! (Let's be honest, today's prompt just screamed John whump didn't it)

**Whumptober2019 Day 7: Isolation**

John reeled back as another panel exploded under his hands. He cried out as the heat licked at his forearms.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit" he swore.

There were alarms screeching at him, trying to tell him something was wrong - as if he couldn't have figured that out himself what with half the control panel on fire.

He coughed through the smoke, activating his comms again. "International Rescue, come in. Mayday. Mayday."

He swore again as he still wasn't getting a signal out. EOS was offline too, he was trying to push the thought of his AI to the back of his mind. He hoped she was alright.

At least he knew his brothers would be on the way. The same alarms that were blaring at him would be sounding off on Tracy island as well. They would know he was in trouble. He just wished he could get some sort of confirmation on that.

It was lonely up here. He was completely isolated. Usually this wasn't a problem for him, he had an almost constant stream of communication with his family and he could hop down easily in the space elevator anytime he wanted. But in situations like this he couldn't help but feel so very alone.

Help was always so far away. And with half of his systems down and the other half failing, the cold vacuum of space was far less welcoming than usual.

He trusted his brothers though. That was the one thought that kept him from all out panicking. They were International Rescue after all, he really couldn't be in safer hands.

The smoke was getting thicker and he crouched down coughing harder. He really needed to get his helmet. He'd been in his bedroom and his first priority when the first alarm had gone off had been trying to prevent any further damage. Looking at his steadily burning console he knew that wasn't an option anymore.

Pushing off the floor he quickly exited the command room. Panels were sparking as he moved as quickly as he could through the outer ring. He was almost at his room when a mighty explosion ripped him off his feet and slammed him into the wall.

He lay on the floor panting, trying to blink the black spots out of his vision. He could feel what he was sure was blood dripping down his head. There was panelling debris and smoke all around him. There was also what looked like a crack in the glass underneath him. He knew that was bad but couldn't quite figure out why at the moment. His brain was all muddled.

Breathing was getting harder and the spots were once again back in front of his eyes. He couldn't pass out. He had a feeling that if he did that he wouldn't be waking up again. That thought made him shudder and he struggled, trying to push himself up.

He didn't have the energy. He lay back down and coughed from the smoke.

This is it I guess. He thought sadly, eyes slowly slipping closed.

Then there was an Alan leaning above him, shouting his name. John hadn't even realised his ears had been ringing until he could barely make out what his brother was saying. His little brothers eyes were full of fear and John managed a weak smile.

"Knew you would come." He whispered. Or at least he hoped it came out like that.

Then Virgil came into view lightly pushing Alan out of the way a bit. Virgil shined a light into his eyes and John moaned as the brightness spiked the pain in his head.

Virgil flinched as another panel sparked behind him.

"We can't stay here." Virgil said hurriedly to Alan. "Help me get him up."

John did not like the sound of that but he could see the necessity as he remembered his surroundings.

John clocked in to Virgil counting down.

"3, 2, 1..."

He was suddenly and unwelcomely vertical and the last thing he felt were strong arms grabbing a hold of him as he collapsed into darkness.


	8. Day 8: Stab Wound

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was suuuuper rushed so sorry if its a bit all over the place. Hope you enjoy!

**Whumptober2019 Day 8: Stab Wound**

Gordon awoke blearily to the loud clanging of the klaxon signalling that International Rescue were needed. He shot out of bed on reflex, only to double over in pain as his side flared sharply.

Oh yeah.

He'd been stabbed.

Him and Alan had been on the mainland over the weekend for some R&R. They'd had a good time but that was before they'd been mugged in an alleyway and Gordon ended up with a stab wound in his side.

He'd been fine really. Alan had freaked out and called an ambulance. Not uncalled for he supposed. But none-the-less he'd been thoroughly patched up at the hospital. A new set of stitches to add to his collection, some pain killers and he was good to go.

He'd begged Alan not to tell anyone when they got back to the island. They would just freak out and then they'd never be allowed back on the mainland alone again.

He'd kind of been hoping there just wouldn't be any rescues for a few days but it seemed like that wasn't going to happen. Moving a bit slower than usual, he made his way to the lounge.

Everyone was already there when he got arrived so he slid down onto the couch and tuned in to John's brief. He pointedly ignored the worried look Alan shot him.

The throbbing in his side was very distracting but he picked up that two climbers were stuck on the side of a cliff.

John finished with "Virgil, you and Gordon should be able to handle this one"

Alan was staring at him intently and he knew he really should tell his brothers he was injured.

Stubbornness won out in the end of course. This would be an easy rescue. Him and Virgil had done this exact rescue loads of time's. He didn't even have to do anything except help the climbers onto the people carrier.

So he bounced up from the couch acting way more enthusiastic than he felt as he physically felt the need to stop himself throwing up at the movement.

"Let's get this show on the road then" he exclaimed.

Alan gave him an exasperated look and started "But-"

"Don't be jealous Alan, there'll be a rescue for you soon enough" Gordon teased as he cut his younger brother off. He gave his sibling a threatening look and Alan just scowled back at him before flopping back onto the couch.

The ride to the rescue sight had been uneventful, he was probably quieter than usual but Virgil didn't say anything.

They reached the site in no time and Gordon went to prep the people carrier. It was just two climbers and they were on an easily accessible area of the cliff. All they would have to do was climb on, Gordon didn't even have to do anything.

Virgil expertly hovered over the cliff side and signalled to Gordon that he was about to lower the carrier. Gordon gave confirmation that he was ready and then he was being lowered down out of Thunderbird 2's hull.

He directed Virgil's positioning so that he ended up right by the climbers.

"Hi there, did somebody call for a lift?" He greeted loudly over the roar of Thunderbird 2's engines.

He looked the climbers over as he spoke, they looked a bit shaken up but otherwise uninjured. Perfect.

He threw over a safety cord and shouted to the first climber that he should fasten it to his harness. The man did so and after Gordon was satisfied it was secure he told the man to jump over.

The distance was less than a meter but at this height he guessed it seemed a lot further. The man hesitated briefly before making the jump and landing shakily next to him as Gordon steadied him.

He repeated the process for the next man but this one seemed a lot more on edge. It took him forever to secure the safety line with his shaky hands missing the clasp a number of times.

Once ready he signalled for the man to jump across but instead the climber shook his head and moved further back flattening himself into the cliff face.

Gordon turned to the mans companion to ask if he could help convince his friend to make the jump. Apparently the man had forced his nerves down on his own though as Gordon felt a sudden weight plough into his side as the man made the jump.

He cried out in pain as he toppled over the edge of the carrier. His own safety line pulled taught as it caught him and stars flashed in front of his eyes as agony erupted in his side. He just hung there for a minute, trying to get his bearings.

Virgil was shouting in his ear. "Gordon! What happened are you okay?"

Gordon hastily replied. "Yeah I'm fine Virgil. One of the climbers just got a bit excited."

Gordon hoped his voice hadn't sounded too shaky as he was still breathing harshly from the pain.

A hand popped into his view and he looked up to see the first climber reaching down a hand to help him. He gratefully accepted it and bit his tongue to stop from crying out as his side pushed against the carrier as he was hoisted back up.

He expressed his thanks and signalled to Virgil that they were ready to be taken back up.

He took a minute to examine his side during the ride up and hissed as he noticed blood seeping through his uniform. He must've torn his stitches.

Once he got the men secure in the pod, Gordon made his way back up to the cockpit. He decided he should probably tell Virgil about his injury as he listed to the side with blurry vision. All this trouble for nothing.

Opening the doors he stumbled forward and grabbed onto the back of his co-pilot chair for support.

"Virgil?" Gordon croaked when his brother didn't immediately notice him. "I've been an idiot again."

Virgil turned to look at him with a confused look which quickly morphed into one of horror as he took in his little brothers appearance.

Gordon's legs gave out at that moment and he knew this was not going to help his case in the slightest. There was definitely less panic when you were able to remain upright.

Virgil finally recovered from his shock and switched Two onto auto before jumping out of his seat and to Gordon's side.

"What is it? Did you get hurt in the fall?"

"Uh not exactly" he grunted in response.

Virgil gently laid him down and his hands hovered over his side where blood was now soaking through. Virgil narrowed his eyes as he noticed no tare in the uniform. He pulled back Gordon's uniform and Gordon moaned through the pain as it rubbed against the wound. Virgil's eyes widened as he saw the ruined stitches.

"Explain. Now."

Gordon avoided eye contact with his brother as he replied "Um well, when Alan and I were on the mainland I may have gotten myself slightly stabbed..."

"Stabbed!?" Virgil repeated. "Please tell me you're joking."

Gordon sighed weakly. "I wish."

Virgil was actually at a loss for words.

"You, Gordon Tracy, are literally going to be the death of me"

Gordon smiled as his head started to get fuzzy. "You'd think you'd be used to my stupidity by now"

Virgil must have noticed he was starting to drift as he said "Okay Gordon, hang on while I get a hover stretcher, I'll get you down to the medbay." He added at the end. "We will be discussing this 'slight stabbing' later though"

"Mm-hmm" Gordon responded while his eyes drooped closed.

He felt Virgil pat his cheek. "No sleeping Gordo, keep your eyes open."

Gordon really did try but the darkness was too welcoming and he felt himself slip under, sending a silent apology to his brother as he did so.


	9. Day 9: Shackled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a short one today sorry, but mixed it up a bit for this prompt with some wee!tracy's - enjoy!

**Whumptober2019 Day 9: Shackled**

14 year old Scott let out a choked sob as he hung his head in defeat. He was never going to get out of these shackles on his own. His arms were held above him in a V shape with tight metal shackles fastened around his wrists. It had been hours now and the strain on his arms was almost unbearable.

As the eldest son of multi-millionaire Jefferson Tracy he wasn't a stranger to kidnapping attempts. But that was all they'd ever been in the past. Attempts.

He, as well as all his brothers, had all been taught at a young age to watch out for people who may want to do them harm. Scott had always been especially vigilant as he had four younger brothers to look out for as well as himself.

He was sad to say he'd had to stop many kidnap attempts on his brothers, especially the younger ones. Gordon and Alan were prime targets because of their size. Scott was always terrified someone would just grab one of them and run.

Someone had tried once when Gordon was younger but his second youngest brother had screamed his head off at the stranger and once Scott came running the man got spooked and ran away, leaving a terrified Gordon behind him. Scott was grateful his brother had remembered that particular rule: If a stranger tries to take you, scream as loudly as you can.

Then there were the more thought out schemes. Scott was always worried about John. The middle Tracy always seemed to find a way to be on his own. Scott was left in constant panic every time his space loving brother disappeared when they were in public. Scott would find him holed up somewhere eventually, head stuck in a book not even aware the stress he'd just caused.

Someone had tried to force John into the back of a van one day when he was walking home from school. Luckily a teacher had spotted the incident and had managed get his brother to safety. John wasn't allowed to walk home alone after that.

And then Virgil. Scott was still haunted by the time someone had actually successfully managed to kidnap the second oldest Tracy. Virgil had been 9 at the time and Scott had let him get grabbed right from outside their house. Virgil had only been gone for 6 hours but Scott didn't forgive himself for a long time after that.

People tended not to target Scott. As the oldest he was able to put up more of a fight. But some people thought, as Jeff Tracy's eldest son, he was somehow more valuable to the man. That his dad would pay more for him. As if his dad would ever favour one of his sons.

But that was why he was here now, shackled to the wall, waiting for someone to find him or until his dad paid a ransom for him. He'd rubbed his wrists raw by now trying to free his hands and there were small droplets of blood collecting on the ground from the abuse to them.

It had been well over 6 hours this time. His arms were screaming at him and he was cold, tired and hungry. He hung his head low as a small stream of tears slipped down his cheeks.

He just wanted to go home.


	10. Day 10: Unconcious

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Literally posting this at 5 to 12, been some rapid typing in the last hour to meet this deadline but got there in the end. Phew...

**Whumptober2019 Day 10: Unconscious**

Gordon fell flat on his back taking in lungfuls of air as he tried to catch his breath. He didn't know if he could keep this up.

Crawling over to his unconscious big brother he took him by the shoulder and shook vigorously. He was well past being gentle at this point.

"Virgil! You need to wake up now" Gordon pleaded.

He almost sobbed when Virgil had no reaction and whispered in one last attempt. "Please..."

His brother still had blood plastered to the side of his face. The gash to his forehead had mostly stopped bleeding now but Virgil was still unresponsive. He needed a hospital.

They'd been searching a mine for a group that had become lost. They were hours deep into the twisting caverns when a minor rockfall had hit. Virgil received a rather vicious bump to the head and hadn't woken up since. Gordon was beyond worried at this point. If it weren't for Virgil's faint but steady heartbeat, he would've thought his brother was dead.

Communications were down in the tunnels and Gordon decided they couldn't wait for someone to come find them. That could've taken days with how complicated this tunnelling system was.

Gordon had been half carrying, half dragging Virgil out of this maze for almost 3 hours now. Virgil was a heavy guy and Gordon didn't know how much longer he could go on for. He'd started with the fireman's lift but his big brother was a rather broad so it wasn't sustainable for longer than 5 minute bursts and it was wearing him down too quickly.

By now he was more dragging Virgil than anything else. It felt wrong but there was no other option. He knew they must be near the exit by now but there was a faint voice in the back of his head telling him he was lost. He pushed it away for now.

Gordon took a deep breath and pulled himself together.

"Okay big guy, here we go again".

He grabbed Virgil's wrists and dangled them around his neck, crouching forwards slightly to get his brother slightly propped onto his back. Virgil's feet were still dragging but it was the best he could do.

"We're going to need to get you on a diet when we get back to the island bro. No more cookies for you." Gordon grunted as he walked along. The familiar burn in this arms, legs and back returning as he pushed forward.

He continued like that for about half an hour before he heard someone shout his name. He'd been so focused on putting one foot in front of the other he hadn't even noticed anyone.

Blearily looking up and squinting in the low-light he almost cried when he saw the familiar blue of his oldest brothers IR suit. Scott was sprinting towards them still calling out their names but Gordon didn't have the breath to answer him.

With help coming, he tried to put Virgil down gently but more just ended up collapsing with Virgil on top of him. He scooted out from under his big brother and curled into a ball trying to catch his breath. He was dripping with sweat and his body felt almost numb at this point, his muscles worked well past their limit.

Then Scott was kneeling by his side.

"Gordon, what happened? Are you okay?"

Gordon still hadn't recovered but he chocked our between gasps. "Virgil. Help Virgil."

Scott hesitated briefly but shuffled over to his raven haired brother in the end. He turned Virgil onto his back and tried to examine the head wound.

Gordon, breathing slightly better, tried to sit up to have a look himself. Scott gave him a worried look.

"How long?"

Gordon sighed. "He's been unconscious for about 3 and a half hours now. He needs a hospital Scott. Badly."

Hearing the timescale Scott gave a sharp intake of breath. They both knew how serious this was.

"Okay. Just stay here, I'll run and get a hover stretcher."

Scott started to walk away when he turned back.

"Are _you_ okay Gordon?"

"I'll be fine Scott, don't worry about me."

Scott pursed his lips and Gordon knew that his eldest brother would never stop worrying about them all but he had to try. It had been good enough for his brother however as he ran off at a run to get the stretcher.

Gordon crawled over to his unconscious co-pilot.

"Don't worry Virgil. The cavalry's here now."

Gordon closed his eyes, just lying next to his big brother as he drifted to sleep.

Gordon had been sent for some much needed rest once they got to the hospital. He'd wanted to stay up to hear about Virgil but he couldn't deny he was exhausted. Knowing it would be a few hours at least before he'd be allowed to see his brother, Gordon followed the order to sleep.

He woken up hours later to Scott shaking him awake. Agonising pain had spread throughout his muscles while he'd been sleeping and he actually had trouble even standing up to start with.

Scott told him Virgil was awake and that he could go in to see him if he'd like. Gordon didn't care how much he was hurting in that moment, he needed to see him awake again. The still unconsciousness of his big brother had haunted his dreams.

Edging the door to Virgil's room open he moved in quietly. He'd had more than enough head injuries in his time to know how awful the after effects were. Virgil was sitting up in the bed, still looking a little pale but a lot better than before.

"Good Morning, Sleeping Beauty". Gordon joked as he came in.

That's what he liked to do, diffuse a bad situation with some humour.

"I hear you dragged my sorry butt to safety." Virgil immediately said.

"More like chubby butt, you seriously need to lay off the cookies bro." Gordon quipped.

Virgil put on an offended expression. "Hey! I am not fat!"

"Mm-hm, keep telling yourself that."

Virgil chuckled but his face became serious as he looked him dead in the eye. "Seriously though. Thank-you Gordon, I know I'm not exactly light."

"No worries. You've done the same for me before."

Virgil shrugged and teased. "Bit easier when you're carrying a munchkin though".

"Hey!" Gordon exclaimed.

They chatted for a little while longer before they both ended up asleep on Virgil's bed. All's well that ends well.


	11. Day 11: Stitches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short one today. Enjoy!

**Whumptober2019 Day 11: Stitches**

"Ow, ow, ow." Alan moaned as Virgil was stitching up a gash on this forearm.

Virgil chuckled. "The area's numbed Alan."

Alan pouted. "I can still feel the sensation."

Alan glanced around briefly to have a look and gagged as he saw the needle sticking out of his skin.

"Oh god, I think I'm going to throw up."

Virgil rolled his eyes and pushed Alan head back the other way. "Stop looking at it then."

Virgil had to stop himself commenting that it gets easier with time. He didn't like that he automatically knew this wouldn't be the last time his baby brother had to get stitches.

This was Alan's first time and Virgil really hoped there wouldn't be another one but that was a bit unrealistic with their job.

Alan had really scared him today. It wasn't even that bad a wound but it was hard seeing his littlest brother bleeding. He hadn't realised how desensitised he'd become to his other brothers getting hurt until today.

Scott and Gordon got banged up so regularly he barely even batted an eye when one of them needed a couple of stitches. Even John had his fair share, he wasn't exactly the most graceful out on earthbound rescues after all.

But when Alan had shuffled into Two after the rescue today caked in mud, with scrapes all down arms, Virgil felt his heart sink. This was a reality now. Alan was a member of International Rescue so Virgil was going to have to get used to patching him up.

He knew he would. It was sad but it was the truth. For now though he just have to push down his worry.

Finishing off the last stitch he got up.

"Okay that's you done, a total of three stitches."

Alan seemed to have recovered from his bout of nausea as he examined Virgil's handiwork.

"Cool!" His little brother said as he prodded the area.

"Hey! Stop touching it." Virgil scolded, shaking his head at his brother.

Alan really was just a kid. Virgil thought sadly as he watched Alan bounce out of the infirmary. Probably to show off his new stitches to Gordon.

Virgil packed up the rest of the medical supplies before turning turning off the lights as he headed out.

Just another day on the job.


	12. Day 12: "Don't Move"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Urghh why can't this challenge be in the summer months when things are far less busy - anyway here is my last minute unresearched prompt fpr today. Enjoy!

**Whumptober2019 Day 12: "Don't Move"**

"Don't move Alan" Gordon whispered urgently through their comm system.

They were out off the coast of the island scuba diving, Gordon was giving Alan a crash course and showing him the amazing sea life they lived next to.

Everything had been going great until Gordon had spotted a suspicious fin over the top of his brothers head. There was a shark circling them.

Gordon wasn't too worried, as long as they kept still, the shark would probably move on. It wasn't the right time of day for them to be feeding anyway.

Alan had now spotted their new company and paled slightly. Gordon was quick to reassure him.

"It should move on in a moment, just try to keep still. If you splash around a lot, it's more likely to see you as prey."

Alan took a deep breath. "Okay...but what if there's blood in the water."

Gordon's heart started to beat a little faster at his brothers words.

"Please tell me you're not bleeding Alan."

"I scraped my leg on some coral a few minutes ago."

Now that Gordon looked he could see the gash. It wasn't deep but it was creating a misty red fog in the water. This was not good.

"Okay" Gordon breathed, trying not to panic.

He looked up to see their boat bobbing directly above them.

"We're going to swim up very slowly and get back to the boat"

He looked at Alan for confirmation and saw as his little brother gave a quick nod of his head.

"We're going to be fine Alan." Gordon reassured.

Slowly, they started to ascend. Gordon noticed more sharks joining the first in circling them but he didn't mention it to his little brother. The circle was also definitely getting smaller.

Finally reaching the boat, Gordon splashed up through the surface and quickly hoisted himself over the edge of the boat. It felt wrong leaving his brother in the water but he'd be able to help Alan on better from here.

Turning around he saw Alan's panicked face as he clutched onto the side of the boat. He was splashing about far too much trying to get purchase and Gordon swore as he saw an ominous looking fin breach the surface and coming towards them at a fast pace.

He hooked his arms under Alan's and yanked him up as hard as he could. Alan landed on top of him and they both lay panting on the deck of the boat.

"I am never taking you diving again" Gordon groaned.


	13. Day 13: Adrenaline

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a longer one today! Enjoy!

**Whumptober2019 Day 13: Adrenaline**

Gordon was running. Well he was trying to run, it was a bit difficult seeing as he was also trying to drag his oldest brother alongside him.

There were bullets flying over head as he made a break for the warehouse exit. They'd managed to stumble across a turf war between two local gangs. International Rescue had been called out to evacuate people from the area before a tornado hit. John had informed them that there were multiple life signs in this building.

When they'd first entered, Scott had tried to warn them of the incoming danger but both gangs thought it was a trick to get them out of the area so the other could take over.

Both sides drew weapons and Gordon watched in horror as Scott was pistol whipped across the head. His brother went down hard. The bullets started flying shortly after that as a full on gun fight broke out across the warehouse.

Gordon has been hanging back by the entrance while Scott was speaking but as soon as he watched his older brother go down he started sprinting towards the middle.

He tried to keep low as gunshots echoed in the warehouse and bullets ricocheted off crates far too close to his head. John was speaking in his ear but his only focus was getting to Scott.

Sliding onto his knees as he reached his older brother he hissed at the gash on Scott's forehead. Blood was running down the side of his face and his eyes were closed. Gordon flinched as another bullet whizzed by them. Way too close.

He crouched lower over Scott and patted the elders face lightly.

"Scott, Wake up! We've got to get out of here."

Thankfully Scott stirred underneath him. His startlingly blue eyes opened into an unfocused gaze and he groaned. Gordon winced, he knew how much pain concussions caused and his older brother definitely had one.

Gordon tried to get his brother's attention.

"Scott, I know your head hurts but we need to move. Now. I'm going to sit you up, okay?"

Scott seemed to be trying very hard to focus on what he was saying but Gordon didn't see much comprehension behind his eyes. He didn't have time to take it slow though so he proceeded in manoeuvring Scott up into a sitting position.

Scott gasped as the motion spiked pain into his head. Gordon was holding most of his weight up as Scott tried to get his bearings.

This was not good. They were completely out in the open here. Gordon needed to get them some cover.

He gripped onto Scott's shoulders looking directly into his brothers eyes.

"Scott. Unless we want to end up full of bullet holes we need to get out of this warehouse." Gordon said slowly. "I need you to focus."

Scott let out a breath and gave a very slight nod at Gordon's words. Okay. Gordon could work with that. Scott was pretty much sitting up on his own now so Gordon grabbed one of his arms and hooked it over his shoulder, wrapping his other arm around Scott's waist.

"Okay, standing in 3, 2, 1..."

Gordon hoisted his brother off the ground and waited for Scott to get his feet under him before making a beeline for the exit. Scott was leaning heavily on him and his movements were very uncoordinated. Gordon had to stop his brother falling over more than once.

He grunted under the weight he was having to take. They didn't have time to stop though, bullets were still whizzing about and there wasn't much Gordon could do to get them cover. Scott was barely able to walk in a straight line as it was. In other words, they were sitting ducks.

Then John was speaking in his ear again.

"Just get him as far as the exit Gordon. Virgil and Alan are closing in on your position."

Okay. Gordon could do that. He continued their sloppy jog, pulling Scott along with him. He didn't even know how aware his brother was of what was going on.

Reaching the exit, they burst out into the daylight and Gordon could see Virgil and Alan sprinting over to them. He didn't want to stop this close to the warehouse though so he kept up their stumbling until Virgil was suddenly beside them, putting Scott's other arm over his shoulder. Alan hovered near by, not sure what to do with himself.

Gordon was immensely glad for the help as majority of his eldest brothers weight evened out. They continued to push forward, putting as much distance between them and the warehouse as possible.

Gordon had never been more thankful to see the great bulk of Thunderbird 2 as they made their way to where his brother had landed.

Depositing Scott into a bed in the medbay, Virgil immediately started looking their eldest brother over.

"Trust you two to end up in the middle of a gang war" Virgil muttered, shaking his head. "How long was he out?"

Now that Gordon had stopped moving, he was suddenly feeling extremely tired. He tried to keep focused on the conversation.

"Uhh, no more than 2 minutes I don't think." Gordon replied.

He was leaning heavily on one of the worktops and Alan shot him a worried look. "Are you okay Gordon?"

Gordon suddenly wasn't sure about that. He felt very weak and he was quite dizzy.

"I-I don't know..." He said shakily.

This got Virgil's attention and his medically trained brother whirled round to look at him.

Alan suddenly paled. "Gordon, you're bleeding."

Gordon looked down to see his torso covered in red. He saw a tear in his suit and realised he hadn't been as luckily as he thought. There was a clear bullet wound just under his ribs.

"Oh." He whispered before he was suddenly falling, his legs giving out underneath him.

The impact with the ground never came as he felt strong arms catch him and lower him down to the floor slowly. Virgil's face came into view above him and Gordon could see the subtle look of panic in his brothers eyes.

Didn't ev'n feel it till now" Gordon mumbled as his vision swam.

"Dammit." Virgil swore.

Gordon's eyes started to droop closed, until he felt Virgil patting on his cheek. He smiled to himself as he realised he'd used that same motion on Scott in the warehouse. He now felt for his eldest brother as he himself struggled to open his eyes again.

He was just so tired.

He managed to give Virgil one last look that he hoped expressed an apology as he unwillingly sank into darkness.


	14. Day 14: Tear-stained

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 weeks down! This event has definitely turned out to be a lot more challenging than I anticipated. (Guess that's why they call it a challenge huh...).
> 
> I have so much respect now for people who manage to write and produce content everyday. And I am in awe of the people who have been writing full length, well thought-out fics everyday this month. Like wow.
> 
> I hope I can make it through to the end. Thanks to everyone who's been reading. Enjoy!

**Whumptober2019 Day 14: Tear-stained**

"Virgil open up!" Scott yelled through the door to his brothers bedroom.

Upon getting no response he tried again. "Please Virg, I just want to talk."

He heard movement on the other side of the door and Virgil inched the door open slightly. It was dark in Virgil's room but Scott could clearly make out the remnants of tear tracks staining his brothers face.

"It wasn't your fault." Scott whispered as his heart broke for his younger sibling. This was a familiar script. "There was nothing else you could have done."

Virgil just bowed his head towards the floor and opened the door wider. Taking this as an invitation, Scott made his way into the room and gently shut the door behind him.

"Talk to me Virgil."

Virgil sighed and looked towards Scott, unshed tears glistening in his eyes.

"He was only ten Scott. He had his whole life ahead of him and I couldn't save him."

His brother sat down heavily on the bed and rested his head between his hands.

"I should've been able to save him." Virgil continued so quietly Scott could barely even hear it.

Scott sat down next to his brother and pulled him in close. Virgil shuddered against him as the tears began to fall again. Scott just held on tighter.

It was always hard to loose someone on a rescue. Especially kids. Scott had been there before. He'd felt what Virgil was feeling now. It was a dark spiral to fall into if you let it take over. Scott was here to make sure Virgil didn't lose himself to this loss.

International Rescue saved lives. Scott was thankful for his role in that process everyday. But then there were the darker days. Days like today.

No matter how many lives International Rescue saved, it never quite made up for the few that slipped through their fingers.

Scott knew Virgil would be okay in the end. They couldn't afford to hold on to loss. All of his brothers were well acquainted with death by now and they had learned to cope with it over the years. It was hard but it was part of the job.

Scott just made sure he was there for his brothers to lean on when they needed it.


	15. Day 15: Scars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really struggled with this one. Been putting off writing it all day, but managed to whack out a wee short one in the end. Enjoy!

**Whumptober2019 Day 15: Scars**

Scott watched from the poolside as Gordon glided through the water with a familiar grace he'd been forced to build back up over the past few months.

It was astounding really. Gordon had barely been able to walk after his accident and now he was just about back to peak fitness again.

Not to say it hadn't been hard. There had been dark days and a lot of frustration for his water loving brother the past few months.

Gordon always liked to pretend he was fine but when the careless jokester mask dropped, even for a second, Scott could see dullness behind his brothers eyes. That scared Scott more than the physical injuries Gordon was having to recover from.

Gordon was scarred. The physical scars were hard to look at. They reminded him too vividly of what almost happened that day. But the emotional scarring was worse.

Someone who didn't know Gordon very well probably wouldn't notice any difference in his brothers attitude to life. Gordon was still all smiles and jokes on the outside. But Scott knew. Knew about the deeper anguish that his brother now carried. Could see the frustration his brother felt at himself for not improving fast enough.

Gordon had been more withdrawn, especially in the first couple of months after the accident. Scott had failed to notice at the time as they'd been so busy struggling to go out on rescues with one man down.

Gordon blamed himself for that too. He blamed himself when Virgil ended up collapsing after trying to do too much without his co-pilot. He blamed himself when Alan had almost drowned in a rescue that should have been his job. It all took a toll on his mental health and Scott had ignored it for too long now.

Physically, Gordon was healed. But Scott could still see the dull look in Gordon's eyes when he thought nobody was looking. He could see the isolation Gordon had forced himself into.

Scott had to fix this. Soon.


	16. Day 16: Pinned Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I apologise for this one guys, it's not even finished but I have been out all day and I am writing this from a sporting event I am at tonight. I had such a longer one planned but no time! Might try and finish it tomorrow but just going to have to post what I have for now. Sigh...

**Whumptober2019 Day 16: Pinned Down**

Scott awoke in a panic to water splashing on his face. He tried to sit up but cried out when his chest screamed in pain at the movement. Looking down he saw a large beam that was pinning him down across his chest. He tried to slow his breathing as each breath he took cause a sharp pain in his chest. He rested his head back again but spluttered as water splashed over his face.

He was in a small room filled with rubble and a low volume of water. As he looked now he could see his legs were also pinned down under slabs of concrete.

International Rescue had been called in to help with the evacuation of a town that had been badly flooded. Scott vaguely recalled that he'd been searching a building when the floor had given way underneath him.

He seemed to be in some sort of basement now. The floodwater was streaming down into the room he was in and Scott felt panic grip at him as he watched the water in the room getting steadily higher.

He strained against the beam pinning him down but it was too heavy and he didn't have any room to get a good grip on it.

Okay. Scott thought. Plan B.

"Scott to Thunderbird 5" he spoke into his watch.

John responded immediately. "Scott! Are you okay? I've been trying to call you for 10 minutes now."

Scott hadn't realised how long he'd been out but he couldn't afford to waste any time right now.

"I fell through the floor of the last building I was searching." Scott said casually as if it was an everyday occurrence. "I'm fine but I'm pinned down and I think I may need some help."

"I've learned not to trust your definition of fine" John grumbled. "Virgil and Gordon are already on their way to your location, Gordon should be about 3 minutes. Injuries?"

Scott rolled his eyes. "I'm fine John."

"You fell through the floor Scott." John deadpanned.

"Well there is one problem" Scott admitted. "There's water filling up this room and I'm pinned on my back to the ground, so if you tell the guys to hurry that would be great."

"Dammit" John swore.

Scott was having to crane his neck now to keep his head out of the water.

Gordon burst in not too long after and had a quick survey of the room before spotting his field commander.

"Got yourself in a bit of a tight spot I see." Gordon said casually, though his tense muscles conveyed a different emotion.

"Just a bit"

Gordon climbed over rubble to get to him. He grimaced at the state of his older brother and tried to lift the beam.

Scott groaned when the pressure released slightly but Gordon couldn't lift it the whole way up.

Gordon sighed. "We'll have to wait for Virgil to get here with the exo-suit".

Scott bit his lip at the words. The water was getting too high too fast. He didn't know if they had that long.


	17. Day 17: "Stay with me"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yesterday was a mess. Today is only slightly less of a mess. And I apologise for all the cliff-hangers, apparently it's the only way I know how to end a story... enjoy?

**Whumptober2019 Day 17: "Stay with me"**

Scott and John had been trapped in a small storage room for almost two hours now. An explosion had blocked the door with debris on both sides. There was also an unusual interference on the comms so they couldn't call for help.

This wouldn't usually be a problem. It would usually be no more than a small inconvenience and maybe just slightly annoying. Their brothers would realise they were missing soon enough, Alan would be able to pinpoint their last known location from Five and that would be that.

Or that would be that if John wasn't slowly bleeding out with nothing around to help.

The explosion that had trapped them in this room had also sent a small shard of glass into John's abdomen. Scott had spent the last two hours jumping between fretting about the injury and trying to unblock the door. Neither had much success.

John was unusually calm. Well not so much unusual, John was always calm but unusual for someone in his current position.

It hadn't seemed too bad in the start. Since the shard was still in the wound it had stopped the blood from flowing too quickly. Scott had assumed they'd be able to call for help and be out of here within ten minutes. It wasn't exactly going as planned.

"It'll be fine Scott." John had assured him.

But that was when he'd still been standing and still had most of his blood inside his body. Now John sat propped up against the wall with an old towel in his hand that was soaked through with his own blood.

His brother was sheet white, a thin sheen of sweat covering his forehead. The blood loss was taking its toll and Scott didn't know how much more his brother could afford to lose. He didn't understand why no one had come to find them yet.

He knelt down by his brother and swapped out the blood soaked cloth for a new one, pushing it down hard around the wound. John grimaced at the action.

"How're you doing, Johnny?"

"Been better." John whispered weakly.

His brother didn't have the strength to put pressure on the wound anymore so Scott settled down next to him. John's eyes were unfocused and Scott could see them starting to droop.

"Hey, no sleeping on the job." Scott joked light-heartedly. He struggled to keep the worry out of his voice though as panic gripped at him.

John gave a ghost of a smile. "This is why I stay up on Five. No explosions."

"You could find trouble no matter where you are Johnny." Scott replied in an exasperated tone.

John hummed in agreement. Scott didn't even know how aware his brother was at this point. He felt helpless. His little brother was literally dying and he couldn't do anything.

"Just stay with me, John." Scott pleaded. "Just hold on a little longer."


	18. Day 18: Muffled Scream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, slowly getting back on track guys. Managed to get a longer one done today, hope you enjoy! Sorry for all the comments I've missed the past few days, things have been so hectic but I really appreciated them.

**Whumptober2019 Day 18: Muffled Scream**

"I can take them down." Scott insisted in a quiet whisper.

Virgil scowled. "No Scott. You can barely walk on that ankle and don't think I haven't noticed you rubbing on your ribs. Broken?"

Scott sighed. "Just bruised."

Virgil gave him a pointed look and Scott groaned quietly. "I promise Virgil, they're just bruised."

"Okay. You're still not going out there though." Virgil commented.

"Well what are we going to do then. We need to get Gordon out of here." Scott whispered.

Scott looked down at their younger brother who was still unconscious from the fall. They had both fallen from the floor above. Gordon had managed to impale his leg on a pipe and knock himself out while Scott had gotten away with a just a sprained ankle and a couple of bruised ribs.

Virgil had come to help them not too long after. It wasn't a great situation to begin with but of course with their luck it managed to get worse.

The building they were in happened to be storing some high value materials and apparently an earthquake was ideal cover for a robbery. They'd seen five men so far, all wearing masks and carrying weapons.

They'd managed to stay silent and out of sight so far but it was clear this was an organised operation and not a quick grab and run job. The men did not appear to be leaving anytime soon.

Gordon needed a hospital and despite Scott's big talk he didn't really like their odds here. They were too vulnerable with Gordon and himself injured.

It was in that moment that their brother decided to re-join the land of the living. Gordon groaned loudly and in his panic of being overheard Virgil placed a hand over his brothers mouth.

Gordon stiffened underneath them before he started struggling more. He hadn't opened his eyes yet and it was clear he wasn't aware of who was around him.

"Shh Gordon." Scott whispered as he brushed his brothers hair out of his face. "It's just us."

Gordon stilled and blinked his eyes open, squinting in the light. Virgil kept his hand in place until he knew Gordon was aware enough to understand them.

Gordon's eyes were confused as he looked up at his older brothers.

"You need to be quiet, okay Gordon?" Virgil whispered to his brother.

Gordon gave a slight nod of his head so Virgil removed his hand.

"What's going on?" Gordon croaked out quietly.

Virgil shared a worried look with Scott before explaining. "You fell and hit your head and now we're hiding from men with guns."

Gordon's eyes widened slightly before he shook his head in disbelief and joked. "Just another day on the job then."

Virgil was glad Gordon was coherent enough to make jokes at least. He gave a light chuckle and patted Gordon on the shoulder.

It was then Gordon made a move to sit himself up when pain exploded in his leg. He collapsed back down onto the ground biting his tongue and clenching his fists in order not to cry out.

Scott hovered worriedly as Virgil helped get him settled again. "Don't move Gordon. Your leg's been impaled on a pipe."

Gordon still had his teeth clenched tightly together as he ground out. "Urgh, forgot to mention that part of the story did you?"

Virgil grimaced as he knew the pain his little brother must be feeling. "Sorry."

Footsteps echoed along the corridor outside their room and they all held their breath. Luckily whoever it was passed by without seeing them.

"We need to get out of here." Scott reiterated.

"You're right, but it's not going to be easy." Virgil sighed glancing down at Gordon.

Gordon groaned. "I have a feeling I'm not going to like this."

The plan was simple. Virgil would carry Gordon while Scott kept a look out. The exit was only at the end of the corridor so they didn't have to make it far. No one had passed by for a while now so they should be safe.

The only problem was that they'd have to remove Gordon's leg from the pipe before they could go. That wasn't going to be fun for any of them.

"Okay Gordon, you ready?"

"Do I have a choice?" Gordon muttered.

"Sorry kiddo." Virgil grimaced.

Virgil placed a rolled up wad of bandages into Gordon's mouth for him to bite down on. They had to be as quiet as possible. Virgil honestly hoped his brother would just pass out. This was going to be excruciating.

Scott held down Gordon's arms while Virgil tried to find the best angle to do this from. The pipe was fixed to the floor so he'd have to pull his brothers leg up over it. Virgil took a steadying breath and started to lift.

Gordon's back arched off the ground as he screamed into the bandage. It wasn't helping. Gordon was being too loud.

Virgil didn't stop though as he steadily lifted his brothers leg. He had to do it slowly in order to minimise the damage he was causing.

Scott place a hand over his brothers mouth to try and further muffle the screams while whispering apologies and assurances into his little brothers ear. Tears were streaming down Gordon's face and he eventually succumbed into the world of unconsciousness.

Virgil finally got Gordon's leg free and made quick work of tightly wrapping bandages around the appendage. He shot Scott a look of devastation at what they'd just had to go through. What he'd just forced his baby brother to go through.

They didn't have time to linger though. As soon as he made sure Gordon wasn't going to bleed out on the way to Two, they got moving. Virgil, with some help from Scott, hoisted Gordon's deadweight up over his shoulder.

They just had to make it to Two.


	19. Day 19: Asphyxiation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a last minute one today as seems to be becoming a common occurrence. Quantity over quality this month I'm afraid... enjoy!

**Whumptober2019 Day 19: Asphyxiation**

"Please hurry John." Scott pleaded.

"I'm going as fast as I can Scott." John grunted.

He was using an exo-pod to travel across from Thunderbird 5 to a nearby space storage unit. It wasn't exactly the same as soaring along in Thunderbird 3.

"He's not responding anymore."

Scott's voice was grating on his nerves. He knew they were running out of time. He didn't need anymore reminders that his baby brother was dying.

Alan had been on a solo rescue to a nearby space storage unit. Well it wasn't so much of a rescue as it was more of a disaster prevention mission. It was an automated unit with no employees but one of the gas tanks was showing a leak.

This wasn't usually their area but they were helping out as a favour to the GDF. It should have been simple. Alan could have done it with his eyes closed. The tank was properly replaced within minutes.

What they hadn't counted on was the automated lockdown of the facility as the systems reset. Alan had gotten trapped inside and even John hadn't been able to override the system remotely.

Their IR suits provided 2 hours of oxygen before the supply needed replaced. John had the countdown on his watch, another blaring reminder of his brothers fate.

1hr 57m.

John was still 5 minutes out.

Alan had panicked at first but John talked him through conserving his air by staying calm, still and taking small shallow breaths.

John had been there before. It wasn't pleasant. Alan himself had saved him from this predicament once before, John just hoped he'd be in time to repay the favour.

Finally reaching the facility, John searched frantically for the outer control panel he needed. He'd loaded a pen drive with the code needed to override the system and unlock the doors.

He located the panel but found his eyes drifting to the great bulk of Three docked to the side of the station. He was aware of the time ticking by.

2hrs 4m.

He just had to hope Alan had stayed calm enough to conserve his oxygen.

Finally the doors whooshed open and John fired in. He had the precise location of his little brother flashing on his watch.

Reaching the room he quickly made his way over to the small figure that was floating limply.

Alan's eyes were closed and his lips blue when John finally reached him. He quickly checked his brother pulse - weak, but still there. That assurance at least banished the dark thought that his brother was already gone.

Turning Alan over he replaced one of the small canisters attached to his brothers suit. John could hear the hiss as it released oxygen back in to Alan's helmet. John was relieved to hear a sharp intake of breath and spun Alan back round to see his little brothers eyes blinking up at him.

"Hey Alan." John smiled at him. "You okay?"

Alan let out a shaky breath at the question.

"Yeah, thanks for coming Johnny." Alan breathed out, voice trembling slightly.

"I'll always come Alan." John assured him before pulling the young blond in for a tight hug as he let out a shuddering breath himself.

"Besides, I owed you one."


	20. Day 20: Trembling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one takes place after SOS - Part 2 and sort of stems from a line I had in 'Day 15: Scars'. Enjoy!

**Whumptober2019 Day 20: Trembling**

Virgil sighed and rubbed his eyes as he sat in the pilots seat of Thunderbird 2. Rescues had been coming in non-stop the past week. He was exhausted.

It was hard with Gordon off of active duty. Since his little brothers' run-in with the chaos crew, Virgil had been picking up a lot of slack. Gordon was his co-pilot after all.

He was heading back to the island now after his 3rd consecutive solo rescue of the day, or of last two days to be exact. He didn't think he'd slept in almost 48 hours now.

He honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd had more than 4 hours of consecutive sleep either. Between constant rescues and fretting over Gordon's health while at home he was nearing the end of his rope.

He didn't complain though. Scott was easily doing more than him and John was working round the clock from Five. He hadn't been on a rescue yet where John hadn't been in his ear if he needed it. He made a mental note to check on John at some point.

Even Alan was stretched way too thin between completing pretty much all space rescues as well as filling in as Virgil's co-pilot where he could.

So he couldn't complain. He'd just have to suck it up.

He was so caught up in his thoughts he almost missed the island. He slowly brought his bird in to land and winced when he hit the landing pad rather hard. Not his smoothest of entrances but he'd blame it on the tiredness.

He completed post flight checks sluggishly, blinking frequently to keep his eyes open.

He really needed to get some sleep.

Standing up he had to grab onto the back of his chair when his vision doubled. Black spots flashed in front of his eyes and he felt his knees buckle slightly.

Breathing hard he braced himself against the seat until the dizziness passed.

When his vision cleared he took a shaky breath and cautiously removed his hands from the seat. His was trembling slightly and felt a bit unstable on his feet.

He slowly made his way up to the house using the lift and keeping a steadying hand on the wall the whole way up.

He hoped he'd be able to bypass any brothers and collapse straight into bed but luck wasn't on his side today it seemed. Scott was in the lounge when he entered, finishing off some work by the looks of it.

Virgil entered wearily, he didn't have any chance of hiding this from Scott. He could barely keep himself upright.

Scott looked up at him when he came in and immediately frowned, starting to stand.

"Virgil, what's wrong?"

Virgil thought he really must've been looking pretty bad to get that kind of reaction from the eldest Tracy.

He found he couldn't answer though. As soon as he moved his hand away from the wall everything went spinning.

He couldn't focus on Scott and he found himself listing heavily to one side. It felt like the floor was tilting.

Scott was moving quickly towards him as well which wasn't helping with the dizziness at all.

When Scott was right in front of him it felt like something inside of him just switched off.

He tumbled towards his brother as darkness overtook him.

*

Virgil awoke slowly, too bright light was piercing into his throbbing head. He groaned as he forced his eyes open.

He looked around and realised he was in the infirmary. Oh god, what had he done to himself this time.

He noticed Scott asleep in the chair next to him and felt a pang of guilt for worrying his older brother.

He suddenly recalled why he was here and winced internally. Not good. Of all the places to collapse, on top of Scott was definitely in the top ten. He oldest brother would be watching him like a hawk from now on.

His brother stirred in his sleep and blinked open his eyes. Virgil felt another pang of guilt hit him as he realised how sore his brother would be after sleeping in a chair.

Scott's eyes locked on his and he shot upright, immediately awake.

"Virgil! How're you feeling?" He asked.

"I'm fine Scott." Virgil assured.

Clearly this was not the right thing to say as Scott's face suddenly turned into one of anger.

"You're clearly not fine Virgil. Brothers who are fine don't collapse from exhaustion." Scott rebutted.

"I'm sorry Scott." Virgil whispered. "Things have just been so busy lately."

Virgil looked away feeling ashamed with himself. They were all working hard, why couldn't he just have pushed through.

Scott sighed. "You need to take care of yourself first Virgil."

Virgil felt tears well up in his eyes. "But I'm not doing anymore rescues than you Scott and you're fine."

"When was the last time you ate a meal Virgil? Or any food for that matter?"

The question caught him off guard and Virgil felt himself calming down a little as he thought about it. He couldn't remember.

Seeing his confusion Scott shook his head sadly.

"This is what I mean Virgil. You need to take care of yourself." Scott pleaded. "I know things have been busy but you can't help people if you're dead on your feet."

Virgil deflated. Scott was right, as usual. He hadn't been taking care of his own health.

He took a shaky breath. "Honestly?" He said quietly. "I've really been struggling without Gordon."

Scott took a hold of his shoulder. "I'm sorry I didn't notice that something was wrong sooner but please" he paused. "If things get this bad again, tell me."

Virgil nodded his head. "I will, I promise."


	21. Day 21: Laced Drink

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one turned out as a weird mix between TOS and TAG but hope you enjoy all the same!

**Whumptober2019 Day 21: Laced Drink**

Scott was bored. He was bored but he wasn't allowed to show it. He'd had a fake smile plastered on his face all night and all he wanted was to get back to the island.

He and Virgil were representing Tracy Industries at charity business gala for the evening. This meant Scott had to put on his easy smile and partake in small talk all evening with some of the wealthiest, most powerful people in the world.

If he had to have one more conversation about the declining stock market he was going to implode. Of course he was used to this kind of event though. All the Tracy boys had attended various high society events across the years.

Lady Penelope had trained them all in the finer arts of manners and class. Not that she was ever satisfied with their efforts. Scott thinks he does quite well for himself though, if the number of young women who've been catching his eye tonight are any indication.

Virgil was here too of course. Scott noticed his brother sitting by the bar and excused himself from his current conversation.

He approached his brother with a grin. "Drinking away your sorrows Virgil?"

"More like drinking to get through the night." Virgil deadpanned back with a groan.

"That we can agree on." Scott slumped into the stool next to his brother.

He gave the bartender an almost pleading look as he flipped a note onto the counter.

"Whisky, please."

The man nodded and hastily poured the drink for him. Scott thought he look a bit flustered but he cut the guy some slack. It couldn't be easy serving people who had the power to get you fired with one word if you screwed up.

Not that Scott ever would but he knew most of the folk in here didn't take kindly to being inconvenienced. He gave his thanks and motioned for the man to keep the change as he paid for the drink.

He knocked back the drink in one go and sighed in relief.

"That bad huh?" Virgil asked.

"You have no idea." Scott groaned. "Remind me to send Gordon to the next one of these."

"That's what you get for being Jeff Tracy's eldest son" Virgil commented, as if it were Scott's fault he was born first. "At least people know who you are, I've been called John or Gordon a dozen times tonight and I even got one Alan!"

Scott chuckled at his brothers exclamation. It was true people tended to mix up the brothers. Scott was the only one who managed to escape this cycle. In the business world, eldest sons were commonly held to higher esteem, the ones likely to take on the family legacy. This had never transitioned into their family life but Scott knew he was more in the public eye than his brothers.

"I wish people didn't recognise me." Scott chuckled. "Enjoy it while you can."

Virgil just rolled his eyes as Scott gave a quick cough as he felt a tickle in the back of his throat.

"Could I get a glass of water, please." Scott asked the bartender. It was a different man than before he noticed.

He rubbed at his throat and coughed gently while he waited for the water.

Virgil noticed his discomfort and asked. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I've just got a sore throat all of a sudden." Scott replied in a bit of a raspy voice.

Come to think of it he was feeling rather hot as well. The glass of water arrived and he took a cautious sip. He had trouble swallowing the liquid and realised his throat was swelling up. Okay, maybe he wasn't okay.

Scott started wheezing slightly as he breathed and corrected his earlier statement.

"Something's wrong Virgil." He croaked out, starting to panic slightly. He leaned forward to try and alleviate the pressure in his throat but over-balanced and ended up on his knees on the floor.

People were starting to take notice of his predicament and a crowd was gathering. Virgil was at his side immediately.

"Just try and take slow, shallow breaths Scott." Virgil said before turning and shouting something about calling an ambulance.

Scott really tried but there just wasn't enough air getting to his lungs. He was starting to feel light headed.

Virgil was rubbing his back soothingly. Scott felt very vulnerable, he couldn't breathe and he was surrounded by people he didn't know. He was suddenly very glad for his brothers presence.

His vision had greyed out now and it wasn't long before he sunk into nothingness.

*

Virgil and John sat outside the Scott's room at the hospital. It had been almost 4 days since the gala and Scott was still in the Intensive Care Unit. They'd discovered his drink had been laced with a fast acting poison.

Virgil would never forget the feeling of utter helplessness when his brothers heart had stopped on floor of the gala. Virgil had done compressions, completely blocking out the thick crowd of people around them, trying to 'help'.

The only thing that mattered to him was keeping his big brothers' heart beating until the ambulance arrived. He'd never been so terrified in his life.

It had been touch and go since then and Scott still wasn't breathing on his own. He'd been intubated since they first got to the hospital.

The whole family had held vigil at the hospital for the past few days, praying Scott would wake up soon.

John and Virgil had their own agenda though. Standing outside the window to their brothers room, John handed Virgil a file.

Inside was every person that had been involved in their big brothers' attempted murder. Seeing Scott so weak and vulnerable made Virgil's blood boil.

He clenched his fists as he vowed whoever had done this to their family was going to pay.

There was nowhere on Earth or in Space they could hide now.


	22. Day 22: Hallucination

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short and sweet tonight after a rather long day, enjoy!

**Whumptober2019 Day 22: Hallucination**

Virgil's hair was slick with sweat as Scott combed his fingers through it. His brother was seriously ill with the flu and had been drifting in and out of consciousness for the past few hours. Scott was getting more and more worried as Virgil's temperature continued to rise.

Scott was not far away from taking him to the hospital on the main land. Brains was a fantastic doctor but they just didn't have the supplies to keep this up if it got any worse.

Virgil blinked up at him, confusion present behind his feverish eyes. He hadn't been fully aware for a while now. Scott went to wet another cloth to place on Virgil's forehead. They had to bring his temperature down.

As he placed the cool rag on his brothers head Virgil turned his glazed look up at him.

"Dad?" Virgil croaked, eyes flickering wildly. "I'm burning."

Scott froze at the words. Virgil thought he was their father.

"It's me Virg, Scott."

Virgil didn't appear to hear him as he moaned softly, weakly struggling under the bedsheets.

"Dad, please h-help me." Virgil pleaded, his voice cracking. "I'm on fire."

Virgil grabbed onto his wrist weakly, eyes pleading for help. Scott felt sick.

"You're okay Virgil." Scott soothed as he placed a steady hand on his brothers shoulder. "Just try and get some sleep."

Virgil's eyes became unfocused again as his gaze wandered back to the ceiling. Scott was panicking on the inside. This was bad.

He raised his watch and quickly spoke. "Gordon? I need you to start pre-flight checks in Thunderbird 2."

Gordon's voice came back over the comm link immediately. He knew a direct order when he heard one but his voice was tinged with confusion.

"FAB Scott. Everything alright?"

Scott swallowed the lump in his throat.

"No." He said shakily. "We're taking Virg to the hospital."


	23. Day 23: Bleeding Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't know why I seem to have it out for Virgil lately but here he goes again. My search history for this one included 'How many pints of blood can you lose before you die?' and 'can you give blood if you've been in space?' which unsurprisingly I did not get an answer for. Please take any medical technicalities with a pinch of salt, I am too lazy to do proper research. Enjoy!

**Whumptober2019 Day 23: Bleeding Out**

"Take another pint." Gordon insisted holding out his arm.

"No Gordon, it's too risky." Scott said in a tone of voice that left no room for argument.

Gordon persisted. "More risky than letting Virgil die from blood loss?"

Scott shot him a pained expression, indecision clear on his face. Gordon has already given two pints of blood. It was dangerous to go any further.

Scott studied his younger brother. Gordon was pale and his hand was shaking slightly as he held out his arm. Scott didn't think he could take much more.

But then his eyes wandered over to the figure on the bed. Virgil was sheet white and unconscious with painfully slow breathing. He needed another blood transfusion and the only supply on the island was running through Gordon's veins.

Gordon and Virgil had been rock climbing on the far side of the island. All the brothers were highly adventurous and the island had some great cliffs for scaling in their down time. It was a regular activity.

What wasn't regular was Gordon's panicked voice coming over the comms to tell them that Virgil had fallen and was badly hurt. Scott's heart had jumped into his throat.

The irony was that Alan was on the main land right now collecting supplies. And those supplies included a full restock for the medbay. They just didn't have the resources for a serious injury.

By the time Scott and Gordon had gotten Virgil back to the house, he'd lost far too much blood. They didn't have any of Virgil's blood type on the island but luckily he and Gordon shared that type.

Scott hadn't hesitated to take the first pint from his willing brother while Brains worked on stabilising Virgil as best he could. Even the second pint, Scott had only paused momentarily. Gordon was fit and healthy, two pints would be fine.

It hadn't been enough though. Brains had told them Virgil wasn't improving. That he needed another pint. Scott wished he could give his own blood. He would happily give everything he could spare and more if it meant Virgil would live. But he couldn't. And it was killing him.

He hadn't even looked at his younger brother since Brains' statement but Gordon's voice came through unwavering.

_Take another pint._

Scott knew this was dangerous. He really didn't want to do this. But one look at Virgil made up his mind. He grimaced.

"Okay..." He said slowly, feeling ashamed of himself for risking one brothers health for another. "Lie down on a bed though."

If they had to do this Scott was going to make sure Gordon wasn't going to pass out on the hard floor. His brother would have a nap and be fine within a few days. At least that's what Scott was trying to justify to himself.

Gordon's face was set in a grim determination. He stood up from the stool he was on but paused briefly to grab a hold of the wall as he screwed his eyes shut.

Scott was by his side in an instant. "Gordon? You okay?"

Gordon shook his head slightly as if to clear it and opened his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just stood up too quickly."

Scott was starting to reconsider. Gordon was already dizzy. He was already feeling the effects of the blood loss.

Gordon saw his look of concern. "Look Scott, I know you're worried but you're not going to stop me from giving this pint. Virgil needs it. I won't just sit here and watch him die."

Gordon's eyes wandered over to his co-pilot as he finished speaking, a hint of fear present behind them. Scott knew if he were in Gordon's position, he wouldn't hesitate either.

He helped Gordon over to the other bed in the medbay and started setting up to take another pint.

Gordon was taking slow breaths as he lay facing the ceiling, another pint being taken from his body. Scott could see as his eyes became glazed, the blood loss clouding his mind. Scott squeezes his brothers hand in reassurance as his heart clenched at the sight. This wasn't fair.

Gordon's eyes began to droop closed and Scott whispered to him gently.

"Just sleep Gordon. Virgil will be better when you wake up."


	24. Day 24: Secret Injury

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one kind of went off on its own tangent so you could argue that the subject isn't really an 'injury' but I'd say it's close enough, enjoy!

**Whumptober2019 Day 24: Secret Injury**

John groaned as he sat at the console of Thunderbird 5. He'd been feeling terrible for the past few hours now.

Nausea was creeping in at him and he put his head down on the surface top. The coolness of the console made him realise he must have a temperature as well.

Great, just what he needed, another bout of the flu. Although he couldn't figure out how he had contracted a virus in the Five's highly controlled environment. It was usually only when he'd been on the island that he got sick.

Sighing he switched Five on to auto for the night. Hopefully he'd be able to sleep off whatever this was.

He made his way to his room, gripping his stomach as it seemed to protest to the movement.

EOS chimed overhead. "Are you alright John?"

"Yeah EOS, just turning in early for the night." John grunted, not really up for talking much tonight.

"That is most unlike you John, are you sure you're okay?" EOS continued, clearly not getting the hint.

"I'm fine EOS." John snapped at her a little harshly.

She didn't say anything else after that. John made a mental note to apologise in the morning.

Crawling in to bed, John curled up on his side as pain continued to flare up in his stomach. He slowly drifted to sleep, hoping this would all pass by the morning.

Virgil bolted upright in bed at the familiar sound of alarms blaring throughout the island. Except it wasn't the rescue klaxon. It was a new alarm and Virgil just knew that couldn't be good.

He rushed through to the lounge to find Scott already at the control console, Alan and Gordon stumbled in behind him.

"What is that?" Alan asked.

"It's Thunderbird 5's emergency alarm." Scott said grimly as he shut it off. "Thunderbird 5, come in."

Virgil waited with bated breath for a response. He was terrified. John had never activated the emergency alarm before.

"Scott?" A voice came over the comms but it wasn't John.

"EOS? What's going on?" Scott asked, Virgil could hear the fear in Scott's voice as well. Why wasn't it John answering the comm?

"John is unwell." EOS said warily in her childlike voice.

"What do you mean EOS? Did you activate the alarm?" Scott asked again, getting frustrated.

"John woke up in the night and began violently throwing up and now his eyes are closed he won't respond to me." EOS explained rather bluntly. "You need to come up and help him."

The last part was said as more of a demand than a suggestion but honestly Virgil couldn't agree more.

Scott took a brief moment to process the news before older brother Scott was replaced with field commander Scott.

"Okay. Alan, you and Virgil go up in Thunderbird 3, Gordon and I will get Brains and prep the infirmary."

Nodding his agreement at the plan, Virgil sat down in the couch chair that would take him to the co-pilots seat of Thunderbird 3. Alan sat beside him, a grim determination set onto his face.

John awoke blearily as he blinked up at the ceiling to his room. He immediately curled onto his side as the pain in his abdomen came rushing back full force. He groaned into the carpet.

He vaguely remembered waking up earlier and diving for his waste bin to release the contents of his stomach. He had thrown up everything he had before he started dry-heaving. His body just wouldn't stop and it was made worse by the ever growing pain in his abdomen.

He thinks he must have passed out at some point and vaguely wishes he could just go back to that painless void.

He startled when he caught movement in his peripherals as someone entered his room. Quickly identifying the intruder as Virgil he almost sighed in relief. Virgil would know what to do.

"John?!" Virgil said panicky as he ran across the room and knelt down beside him.

His brother tried to roll him over onto his back but John groaned in protest and curled up tighter into his ball.

"John, what's wrong?" Virgil tried again.

"Stomach...hurts." John managed to force out through clenched teeth. He felt like a five year old complaining of a stomach ache but he hoped that Virgil got what he meant.

A grim expression crossed Virgil's face as he leaned in to examine Johns stomach. He lightly pushed his hand down on the lower right-hand side of his abdomen and John cried out at the pain it caused.

"Sorry Johnny." Virgil soothed, although he looked nothing but calm as John glanced up at him. "I think you may have appendicitis."

John's eyes widened at the statement. Appendicitis!? That was serious. He remembered Gordon had gotten it when they were younger. It was terrifying. And that had been when they were actually on Earth, close to a hospital.

John gave a pleading glance to his older brother. Virgil assured him in an unwavering voice. "You're going to be fine John. Don't worry."

John almost believed him. That blind faith he used to have in his older brothers to fix all his problems. He grew to realise that wasn't realistic though. He just hoped Virgil was right this time.


	25. Day 25: Humiliation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a poor effort tonight. Currently in an Airbnb with 8 other people so writing this with a lot of distraction :(

**Whumptober2019 Day 25: Humiliation**

"I don't care who you are, I am not going to listen to some little kid."

Scott keyed in to the angry voice from across the room, overprotective tendencies coming out as he guessed who the shout was aimed at.

There was a large man towering over his littlest brother from across the room. Alan, for his part was holding his ground pretty well.

"Sir, please just wait here until we are able to secure a passage out of the building." His brother said in an even voice. Scott felt pride in Alan's ability to stay calm.

The man seemed to be very twitchy and Scott could see the anger building. He guessed the man was just stressed by the situation but all his tolerance left him when the fully grown man forcefully shoved his little brother. Alan fell back, a look of surprise crossing his face.

"Hey!" Scott shouted, running across the room, anger radiating off him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Scott seethed at the man as he helped a sullen looking Alan back to his feet.

"This kid thinks he can tell me what to do." The man complained confidently as if he hadn't done anything wrong.

Scott saw Alan glance at the ground in embarrassment at the mans words. Scott was furious that this man was putting his brother down, Alan always struggled with confidence in the shadow of four older brothers.

"That 'kid' is a member of International Rescue and if you want to get out of here you better listen to him."

Scott pulled Alan away with an arm around his shoulder. His little brother had a frown present on his face.

"Don't listen to that guy Alan." Scott tried to reassure.

Alan just shrugged away from him.

"I don't need you to fight my battles Scott." Alan said quietly.


	26. Day 26: Abandoned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um...sorry again for the short one :( still away for the weekend, will try and do better tomorrow. It's a shame cause I had longer ones planned for these prompts but oh well, that's life. Enjoy.

**Whumptober2019 Day 26: Abandoned**

"I can't just leave him here Scott!" Virgil shouted through the comms.

"I know Virgil but if you don't, Alan isn't going to make it."

Virgil cursed under his breath. All four Earth-bound brothers had been working on evacuating a collapsed mine when an unpredicted aftershock had hit. Now they were faced with two simultaneous emergencies.

Virgil and Gordon had been searching one part of the tunnels when the aftershock had hit. The ceiling had come crumbling down on top of them and Virgil now found himself with a wall of debris cutting him off from his little brother.

He'd tried shouting and hailing Gordon on the comm but no response had come through. He'd just started trying to shift some of the rocks when Scott had called him slightly panicked.

Him and Alan had been faced with a similar situation, leaving Scott with a broken leg and Alan bleeding out with no one to help.

"Gordon's trapped Scott, I can't leave."

Scott's voice came back through sounding rather sullen. "I can't get Alan out of here with my leg Virgil. He doesn't have much time."

Virgil shut his eyes briefly, having to make one of the most difficult choices of his life in that moment.

"I'm sorry Gordon." He whispered at the pile of rubble before taking off down the tunnel towards his other brothers.

_Please forgive me._


	27. Day 27: Ransom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly longer one today to end a very busy weekend. Enjoy!

**Whumptober2019 Day 27: Ransom**

Virgil had watched the footage over a dozen times now. How could he not have realised?

He had been so close yet he let those bastards take his little brother. Clicking play, he watched it through again.

He and Gordon heading down the corridor together, splitting off to search adjacent rooms.

Cut to the room Gordon had taken. A woman was lying on the ground and his brother had hurried over to her. Crouching down to check her pulse Gordon didn't have a chance when a man appeared behind him.

In a quick motion a taser was forced into the crook of Gordon's neck and he went down hard. The woman he'd been trying to help jumped to her feet, wide grin present on her face.

Virgil watched Gordon as he lay on the ground struggling on weakened muscles to push himself up again. He could see the moment Gordon was going to call out for help before the man placed a firm hand over his mouth muffling any sound.

The woman kicked Gordon square in the back to get him flat on the ground again before grabbing his wrists and wrenching them behind his back. Gordon struggled as he realised what was happening.

The man placed the taser against Gordon's neck again, his brother spasmed and screamed into the hand still muffling his noises. The taser was held in place much longer than the first time and Virgil watch his brother go limp. Gordon wasn't putting up a fight anymore. The woman easily placed metal cuffs around his brothers wrists.

Virgil seethed in anger. He had been right across the hallway and he hadn't realised his brother needed his help.

In the moment, Gordon had disappeared without a trace. Virgil hadn't known what had happened to his brother.

It was John who sent them the footage. Virgil didn't know what was worse, not knowing what had happened or knowing and realising how close he'd been.

How could he not have heard?

And now Gordon was in the hands of an activist group who were ransoming him for the Thunderbirds technology.

Gordon's was in the hands of highly dangerous individuals because Virgil couldn't protect him.

John had already tracked them down of course. Scott, Kayo and the GDF were already on their way. Virgil trusted Scott and Kayo to the ends of the Earth but he knew he should be there too.

He had been grounded.

Scott claimed he was too emotionally compromised, that he would be a liability. That was what Virgil felt like. A liability. Untrustworthy.

He was the one that had let Gordon get taken in the first place. He was suppose to be watching his little brothers back and he failed.

If things went wrong tonight he'd never forgive himself.


	28. Day 28: Beaten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been really struggling with this challenge the past few days but I think I managed to get my flow back a little on this one. Enjoy!

**Whumptober2019 Day 28: Beaten**

Scott's head whipped to the side as another vicious punch landed on his jaw. He spat out a wad of blood from his bitten tongue.

"How about now eh?" The thug towering over him asked again.

"Screw. You." Scott seethed. The cold look he gave the man could have burned a hole through his chest.

"Have it your way." The man sneered at him before heading towards the heavily bolted door. He gave a quick succession of knocks and it opened from the other side.

"Bring him in." The man, who was clearly the leader of this organisation, muttered to those behind the door.

Scott's heart sunk as two more men dragged his little brother into the room. Like him, John's hands were restrained behind his back. Scott could see faint bruising on Johns face which suggested he hadn't been treated any better than Scott.

His blood boiled at the thought of his little brother being beaten. He carefully schooled his features into one of cool indifference though.

He knew why they'd brought John in here and he wasn't going to give them any indication that this was affecting him. They were looking for a reaction. An indication that they could use John against him to get what they wanted.

John gave caught his eye as he was brought into the room. He didn't give much away but Scott knew him well enough to see the fire behind his eyes at seeing the state Scott was in.

Scott was kneeling on the ground, hands tied behind his back with another of the man's goons behind him, keeping him down. He guessed his face didn't exactly look great either after the rough treatment he'd received.

Scott's attention was torn away from his brother as the leader began talking again.

"Why don't we try this again. What is the security code for Thunderbird 1?"

Scott's face remained expressionless and the man didn't wait longer than two seconds before back-handing John across the face.

His brother grunted at the treatment but otherwise stayed silent. Two men still held him upright on either side.

"What's the code Mr. Tracy?"

Scott knew his expression had changed to one of anger but he still didn't say anything at the question.

The man punched John in the gut which made him double over onto his knees before delivering a swift punch to his face. John knew how to roll with the punches but Scott couldn't help the shout that escaped his mouth.

He knew he'd made a mistake when the man smiled in triumph at him. Scott cursed mentally. He'd had training for this in the Air Force. Detach yourself. Don't let them get a reaction out of you.

It was easier said than done when it was your little brother in the line of fire.

John barely had time to catch his breath before a vicious kick was aimed at his stomach. He doubled over, the only thing keeping him on his knees were the hands holding him up.

"Get away from him." Scott growled in anger.

"The code Scott." The man said again.

Scott just barred his teeth. He couldn't give this man the code. He knew that. John knew that. But he didn't know how long he'd be able to hold out at this point.

John lifted his head to look him in the eye. The message was clear. _I can take it, don't tell them anything._

Scott knew John could take it but that didn't make it any easier for him to watch. All his brothers knew the danger of carrying a secret like theirs. International Rescue saved lives but their technology could just as easily be exploited by those with malicious intent.

John was forcefully pulled back up onto his feet at Scott's pause. The leader pulled out a small Swiss-army knife and flipped the blade out dangerously close to Johns face.

Scott didn't even have time to protest before the knife was being dragged across his brothers cheek, drawing a thin line of blood as it went. John grunted at the cut and flinched his head away.

"Enough games." The man said with a false calm before driving the knife deep into Johns shoulder. John cried out at the action, knees almost giving way underneath him.

Scott yelled out in shock at the action, struggling to get his feet underneath him as the man behind him firmly held him down.

"Tell me the code." The man shouted wildly, twisting the knife still embedded in Johns shoulder. His brother gave an agonising scream at the action, legs giving way underneath him as his full body weight was held up by the men holding onto him. Scott doubled his efforts to get free.

"Get away from him!" Scott shouted, fury radiating from him.

His mind was screaming at him, everything had escalated too quickly. He didn't know what to do.

His little brother was being tortured and he was helpless to do anything about it. He felt desperate. Desperate to get free. Desperate to get to his brother. Desperate to get out of here.

The man yanked the knife out of Johns shoulder and John let out a soundless scream, arching his back against the pain.

"You can end this Mr. Tracy." The leader sneered at him. "Just tell me the code."

He proceeded to grab a hold of John's hair and move behind his back, motioning to the goons to move away. John was swaying from his kneeled position on the ground. The man roughly pulled Johns head back and pressed the knife against his throat.

"Last chance Tracy."

John was breathing hard, a grim look plastered on his face as he was forced to look towards the ceiling.

Scott knew this was it. He couldn't watch his little brother being murdered. They'd won.

Or at least that's what he thought before the GDF burst into the room. The next thirty seconds were chaos. Scott couldn't see what happened first but his heart was hammering in his chest. Where was John?

The man behind him had disappeared and he struggled to get to his feet, stumbling over to where he'd last seen his brother.

John was lying on his side, hands still tied behind his back as he breathed heavily. Things were starting to quiet down and Scott felt someone cut his own restraints loose.

He immediately went over and untied John's hands, helping his brother sit up against the wall. John's front was soaked in blood from the knife wound.

"You okay?" John asked him quietly, blue eyes piercing into his.

Scott still hadn't wrapped his head round the last few minutes. He almost laughed at Johns statement.

"Am I okay?" He repeated in disbelief. "You're the one who was just tortured John."

John didn't miss a beat.

"I'm okay, Scott." He reassured

Scott felt his pent up emotions at the situation come to the surface at Johns statement. He let out a choked sob as he pulled John in for a tight hug, being mindful of his brothers injury's.

He took a moment to reassure himself that his brother was here and that he wasn't going anywhere.

"I'm sorry." Scott whispered into Johns ear as he held him close.

"It's okay Scott" John repeated. "I'm okay."


	29. Day 29: Numb

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not too long to go now. This challenge has taught me a lot, I'm both sad and happy it's coming to an end. Happy about ending this insane update schedule but also sad as this has become a part of my daily routine now. Hope you enjoy today's prompt!

**Whumptober2019 Day 29: Numb**

"What's so special about these caves anyway?" Gordon mused as he, Scott and Virgil navigated through them.

"There's some old folklore about them being cursed." Scott said distractedly as he fiddled with the data pad he brought down.

"Right...cursed." Gordon repeated, eyes glancing warily about him.

"It's not real Gordon." Virgil piped in from where he was leading the group, exo-suit lighting the way.

"If it's not real, why were the local authorities so scared to come down here?" Gordon questioned.

"It's just their culture and their beliefs I guess." Virgil said absentmindedly.

Gordon still wasn't reassured. This place was creepy.

"Still not getting any signal on the data pad." Scott mentioned, holding it up in the air as if the few extra inches was going to magically fix it.

They continued to walk along the one path available until they came to a wide opening with multiple different routes leading off it.

"We could split up?" Virgil suggested.

"Have you never seen a horror film Virgil?" Gordon gaped. "The main characters always die as soon as someone suggests splitting up. So nope, nada, not doing it." Gordon insisted, folding his arms across his chest.

"We're not splitting up." Scott agreed. "It's too dangerous when our comms are down."

"Great." Gordon breathed out in a sigh of relief. "So guess there's only one other option then. Eeniee, meeniee, minee, mo..."

"Stop." Scott groaned. "We should be heading South-West so we'll take the tunnel that goes in that direction."

"Right of course." Gordon said turning round to look at all the passages. "And that would be...?"

"This one." Scott gestured to the one he was standing beside, shaking his head lightly.

"I knew that." Gordon carried on casually and sauntered towards the entrance.

Stepping inside he froze when the stone he'd stepped on seemed to move underneath him. He knew that sensation from the time he and Lady Penelope had been trapped in that South African temple. Booby trap.

Scott seemed to notice too as he was suddenly and forcefully tackled down to the ground. The wind was knocked out of him as Scott's full weight came down on top of him.

Had anything happened? Gordon looked about wildly as Scott slowly stood up again. Virgil was hurrying over to them.

"Did it hit you!?" He asked worriedly.

"Did what hit me?" Gordon asked, slightly confused.

"I think it got me." Scott grunted and Gordon looked over to see him pulling a dart out of his neck. Gordon winced. Ouch.

"Shit." Virgil cursed. As he took the dart from his brother and tilted his head back to get a good look at his neck.

Gordon got to his feet feeling equally as worried.

"Do you feel anything?" Virgil asked, looking into Scott's eyes for signs of drowsiness. Had it been a sedative?

"Uh..." Scott leaned back on the wall and admitted. "It feels like a numb warmth is spreading through my body."

Evidence was provided for this when Scott's knees buckled out from under him. Virgil and Gordon were there to slowly lower him to the ground. They propped him up against the wall.

"Talk to me Scotty." Virgil stressed.

"Feels like my muscles aren't responding to me anymore." Scott grunted, trying to flex his arm. He could barely hold it up.

"Any drowsiness? Feeling sleepy?" Virgil continued. He wanted a full report incase Scott passed out.

"No." Scott replied as his arm dropped back to the ground.

"I can't move." Scott grunted, breathing getting heavier as the panic overtook him. His body didn't even twitch but his face showed that he was trying to struggle.

"Scott." Virgil grabbed Scott's chin and made him focus his eyes on his. "Relax. It should only be temporary."

"What is it Virgil?" Gordon asked worriedly from beside him, finally getting over the shock of the situation.

"I'm guessing a muscle relaxant." Virgil supplied. "We need to get him back to Brains. The specific strain needs to be analysed."

Virgil glanced at Scott for a moment before gesturing for Gordon to follow him over to the far side of the cave.

"Just sit tight a moment Scott."

"Not like I have a choice." Scott grumbled.

As soon as they were far enough away, Virgil took out the dart to look at. Gordon hovered nearby, unsure what to do with himself.

"This could be more serious than I made it seem Gordon." Virgil finally spoke up in a hushed whisper.

"What do you mean?" Gordon asked, a tinge of fear present in his voice.

"If this strain is as strong as I think it is, we can't let it reach his heart." Virgil explained grimly.

"What would happen then?"

Gordon didn't need an answer as Virgil just gave him a pointed look. He set his own face into one of grim determination.

They weren't going to let that happen.


	30. Day 30: Recovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some introspective Scott today. Thought about centering this one around Gordon's accident but I've already touched on that a couple of times so I didn't want to be too repetitive. Enjoy!

**Whumptober2019 Day 30: Recovery**

Scott hated being off duty. He very rarely took time off. It ended up just stressing him out more. What if something happened and he wasn't immediately on hand to step in?

Gordon told him it was because he always needed to micromanage them all. He would always deny this statement. He was just _worried_.

Worried that one of his little brother would get or hurt or, god forbid, worse than just hurt if he wasn't around. Even taking a trip to the mainland, he would constantly be on edge.

John had once cut off his comms when he'd apparently been checking-in too often. He had been distracting him from doing his job apparently.

Scott had to admit he didn't like not being in the loop during a rescue. And his check-ins _may_ have been a bit over-the-top that one time.

The worst times though, were when he was injured. When he was _right there_ on the island and he couldn't help. When his bird was only a hairs-width away and he wasn't allowed to deploy. This was one of those times.

He had a broken leg, a slight concussion and was on strict bed rest. Broken bones were the worst. He'd be off duty for at least 6 weeks.

6 weeks of absolute torture. 6 weeks of having to listen to his brothers enter dangerous situations without his back-up. He was literally going insane already and it had only been two days.

He didn't think he was going to be able to handle it. In fact he knew he wouldn't be able to handle it. And so did his brothers. That's why Thunderbird 1 was on lockdown protocol.

When he ended up off duty because of a medical reason, his brothers had learned to not even give him the option of launching.

He wholly did not agree with this action. Injured or not, if his brothers needed him, he wanted to be there. He _needed_ to be there.

Of course, Alan could still fly his bird when Scott was off duty. Scott was on edge every time his littlest brother took her out. It wasn't that he didn't trust Alan, in fact the youngest Tracy was the most skilled in Thunderbird 1- after him of course. It just made him uneasy.

Scott felt helpless in these times. It was a drastic change to their team dynamic when Scott wasn't there. And it wore his brothers down. They were a small team. It was always hard when they were a man down.

That was why Scott was down in the silos right now. Leaning on one crutch, other fist banging onto the locked door of his bird in frustration.

"Please John." He begged. "I have to be there."

"Gordon has it under control Scott." John replied, slightly distracted. "Virgil will be alright."

Scott wanted to believe that. But he could hear the unease in Johns voice, the worry.

"Dammit." Scott swore loudly, slamming his fist down hard on the his bird. His eyes were filled with unshed tears of frustration.

He rested his head against the cold metal and closed his eyes.

Please be okay.

 _Please_.


	31. Day 31: Embrace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow it's really the end. I started this challenge with no intent to even go past Day 1 and here we are. I'm going to be honest. This was hard.
> 
> Some days I just didn't want to write. It's hard to get your muse to come out on a deadline. The amazing support I got throughout this challenge was definitely a huge motivator though. Thank-you so much to everyone who left a review this month. It meant so much to me.
> 
> Here's the final instalment, hoped to go out with a bang but alas Halloween is a busy day so a bit on the short side. Hope you enjoy!

**Whumptober2019 Day 31: Embrace**

Scott watched in horror as the building was engulfed in flames. _No_.

The force of it had blown him back so he was now propped up on his elbows watching the growing flames as the building began to crumble.

This wasn't suppose to happen. This _couldn't_ have happened. Scott's brain wasn't keeping up with his eyes.

All of his brothers had been in that building.

"No!" He cried as he hastily stood up.

"Virgil, report." He said hurriedly into his comms.

The silence was deafening.

"John, come in."

He swore violently at the lack of response.

"Gordon, are you there?"

No. No. No.

"Alan?"

Nothing but static.

Decision made he stormed forwards towards the building only to be halted in his path by a sturdy hand on his shoulder.

"Sir, that building is no longer stable."

It was a local firefighter. Scott almost didn't comprehend what he had said he was so focused on the flames ahead of him.

He shrugged his shoulder away from the man.

"I don't care, my brothers are in there."

The older man gave him a pitying look. "No one could have survived that explosion son, I'm sorry."

"You're wrong." Scott said stubbornly. His voice broke slightly at the statement, revealing the doubt behind his words.

He proceeded to move forward again before the man ran back around on front of him.

"It would be suicide to go in there." He tried to warn.

"I don't care." Scott repeated, his voice almost emotionless at this point.

He pushed the man to the side and strode purposely towards the burning remains of the building. He could feel the heat from here.

He started to think about how he actually planned on getting in before a second explosion ripped him off his feet.

He was thrown back, his head smacking hard against the concrete. All his senses whitened out for a moment.

He refocused to see the firefighter hovering over him. Glancing towards the building he saw there was nothing left but rubble.

He lay his head back down on the ground as tears began to flow down his face.

 _No_.

He slowly sat up and closed his eyes in despair.

"Scott!" A familiar voice called to him.

He had barely opened his eyes before a bundle of blue and red was wrapped around him tightly. Once Scott got over his shock he wrapped his arms around the small frame and held on for dear life.

"Alan..." He breathed in relief.

Glancing over his brothers shoulder he saw the rest of his brothers emerge. They were all black with ash but they were all here. Here and standing. That's all that mattered.

Scott let out a choked sob at the sight. He unsteadily got to his feet, keeping an arm around his littlest brother at all times.

"I thought you were gone." Scott muttered, still clinging onto Alan.

Gordon came forward and latched on around his waist.

"We're right here Scott."

Virgil joined in, engulfing his brothers in a bear hug. Scott was immensely grateful for the comfort.

"Get over here Johnny." Scott mumbled.

John rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah I'm coming."

John joined their embrace and Scott sunk into the warmth. He just needed a minute to be sure that they were all still here.

He let out a shaky breath.

Not today.


End file.
